Anders at....he'll be 2 in January

Anders is coming up on 21 months now, though I never really know what to say when people ask me how old he is. I feel like he's getting a little old for the months answer and besides, it doesn't really capture the essence of Anders. What I'd like to say is "he's 21 months old, but as tall as a 15 month old, as heavy as a 3 year old, and with the emotional maturity of a 16 year old girl". Instead I usually settle for "he'll be 2 in January". TWO! Can't believe it's coming up on us so quickly. Thankfully he has been preparing us for this season of life for the past 9 months so there's no way we're going to be blind sided by the terrible twos. #blessed

Despite the tantrums and defiance this has to be my favorite age so far. He's developing such a personality and we love hearing him talk in his adorable, mixed up sentences. He's starting to be a little social butterfly. He has always loved kids. As soon as he catches sight of kids when we're out in public he zones in on them, starts laughing at their jokes, and thinks he can hang with them no matter their age. But lately he has started striking up conversations with adults too. We were at the zoo the other day and he had a stream of dialogue going with this random woman at the otter exhibit. As the otter would swim back and forth he would say, "where''d he go? otter go? oh! there he is! find him!" for like seriously 15 minutes. It wasn't getting old to me or him, but I can't speak for this poor woman.

More Andersisms of 21 months that I don't want to forget

• "Come on Mama/Daddy/Oliver! Pay yegos!" (while beckoning us with his hand)
• "Here go, Mama" (when handing me something I almost never want)
• "Hurt your finger" -what he says anytime he hurts anything
• "Bonk your head"- any time he gets in trouble he says he bonked his head to get sympathy
• Gives himself pep talks- "Good dump it out!" "Good helping Anders!" "Careful Anders" (when doing something dangerous like jumping on the bed)
• When we tell him it's time to say prayers he folds his arms and says "Heavenly Father, thank you day" Maybe his mother and father need to work on their vain repetitions...
• Thinks everything is funny. "funny dog" "funny yogurt" "funny trash truck". It's really not all that funny
• Counting. I can't do it justice so I'll have to post it a video. Adam thinks he has disparnumerophobia. #notarealdisease

Other than that he's pretty much your typical toddler. He loves animals and is getting really brave around dogs, even letting them lick his face and smack him with their tails. He loves construction and we check in on the two construction sites on our street every day. He's getting interested in dinosaurs and calls them all "big T-Rex" no matter how many times I correct him. And I know my dinosaurs. He gets so frustrated when things don't go his way and throws himself down on the ground in true toddler fashion. He's a great eater one day and the next won't touch anything we give him. He loves Oliver and they freak out every morning they see each other (which is like 5 mornings a week) but then I hear "Anders' turn" all day in reference to anything that Oliver has, so we're still working on sharing. Loves books and has lots of words and phrases memorized. Always wants to be as naked as we'll let him be (as evidenced by the below pictures). He'll ask for "shirt off, pants off, socks off" then try for "diaper off" but we stop him there. He's interested in babies and holding his baby doll but can't understand why he can't find the baby in Mama's tummy. I mean, I could go on forever but I'll probably just leave you with an onslaught of pictures. 

 

washing machine maintenance

always happy to pet your dog at the park

"here go, mama"

mid-week breakfast date with the big D

crazy times at the park with his two best buds Oliver and Audrey 

(also, all toddler girls are named Audrey)

always requesting "buddles" in the bath

sitting on this fake hippo is always, always better than seeing the live hippos

you can never be too safe while puzzling

 Adam requested a picture of Anders while at work and I sent him the first one I took. 

Beggars can't be choosers!

And in closing, here's the video I promised. Not sure how to make it not look so funky and huge? For those who don't speak Anders he's trying to count but keeps getting distracted by fire trucks and trash trucks. He finally settles on "1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14! 16, 16, 16, 16!"

He's my best little buddy and I love him to pieces.